Tiger Cruise or Family Day Cruise

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Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on April 1, 2011 at 11:09pm

Your sailor will have to submit your name for the cruise.....let him know you want to go and he can sign you up.  There will be paperwork you'll have to complete (medical screening) and a fee your sailor will have to pay.

Comment by Peter Robson on April 1, 2011 at 10:50pm

Just read on the Carl Vinson facebook site they will have a tiger cruise but it never told you how to sign up , any advise from a vet ?

 

Comment by Robert Hartman on March 28, 2011 at 9:06pm

A few things I learned

Pack lite is very important, my bag grew a little with the stuff I bought on the ship. It was 1.18 miles from the ship to the front gate.

Don't count on having a rack to store your items in, my rack was locked all I had was a small locker.

Learn the schedule of the Sailors in your immediate berthing space,so that way you are not in their way.

I had someone from my sons shop print the penny press tiger schedule every day. The announcements in the mornings are very hard to hear sometimes.

Wear something with lots of pockets so you can keep both hands free for climbing ladders. also handy for stashing food(chips, poptarts,ect from snack bar) for when you miss chow.

Comment by Ken Cook on March 28, 2011 at 2:58pm

Thanks, Robert.   We never made it far enough to be "interesting".  The admiral ordered them back to San Diego.  We were all in favor of pushing forward, but common sense prevailed.   The Tigers would probably have been human pinballs anyway.

One good thing was we all did get to experience spending time on a US Navy warship with our sailor at sea.  It was still an outstanding experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on March 26, 2011 at 3:04pm

USS Abraham Lincoln pulling into Everett

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on March 26, 2011 at 2:57pm

I hear that Robert!!!  Hope cruise was good despite the weather....

Comment by Robert Hartman on March 26, 2011 at 2:31pm

Sorry I missed you Paul, it was a little hectic Thursday. I was ready to hit my hotel and relax.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on March 26, 2011 at 12:10am

sorry missed each other Robert....

Comment by Robert Hartman on March 25, 2011 at 11:28pm

Sorry about the high seas ruining your cruise Ken. It was quite a ride even on the Abe. I had heard that the Momsen had to pull out. Waves were crashing over the hanger deck on the Abe so I can only imagine what it was like on the Momsen.

Comment by Ken Cook on March 21, 2011 at 8:15pm

Just returned from a Tiger cruise aboard the destroyer USS Momsen.  Didn't quite work out as planned due to bad weather at sea, but the experience was amazing.  Everyone from the captain down on the ship was great.  We had some excellent demos, live fire events and a view of the Pacific that couldn't be beat.  I was proud to watch my son be part of something as impressive as a Navy ship at sea.

The info from the posting re the Abraham Lincoln below is excellent and directly applicable to a cruise on a destroyer with some comments/additions

1) Bring a open mesh bag to hang any items you might need before or during the shower.  Only one hook per shower bay and that is usually used by your towel.   We had no benches or seats in the berthing.  Also make sure your robe has pockets to hold things.

2) Take the Dramamine!!  We had 10 - 15' swells but the meds worked like a champ.  Try adding in some ginger pills also to help with any uneasiness (learned that from Mythbusters)

3) If you bring a flashlight don't get one that is too bright.  The racks are close together and 1/3 of them will be filled with people trying to sleep.

4) Take advantage of every chance to learn something. It allows you to appreciate how hard our sailors work and how complex their jobs are under difficult circumstances.  And ask to see things.  Sometimes areas are not scheduled to be visited but the sailors that work there would be happy to show you.

5) Keep in touch with your sailor about boarding times.  We were able to get aboard several hours early.

6) Keep your return travel plans as flexible as possible.  Even the captain of a US Navy vessel can't control the weather or the needs of the service.  We did not make it to our destination port.

7) Take pictures.  A lot of pictures.

8) Plan your showers for times when few sailors are using the facilities.  For us, that was in the evening.

9) Only 1 ship store (open part of the day) and one mess which doubled as the rec room.   They did keep some snacks out 24 hours but nothing else was available.

10) I had keyed padlocks instead of combo which was good because I had the lowest rack and lowest locker so doing a combination quietly in the semidark would have been interesting.

 

Have fun.  Sometime things are difficult, but it will be a life experience.   If anyone wants additional details, please contact me.  I can only speak for destroyers.

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